by Dr. Iain
Corness
Have
you ever met someone and instinctively know that this is a genuinely
‘nice’ person? Danchai Nalintiphywong, but known by his nickname Mee,
is one of those. Open, ready to smile and self-effacing, he is one of the
partners in Refresh Fitness and Spa in Jomtien Nivate.
His introduction to the world was as the 11th child to
an office worker in Bangkok. There was no money to splash around in this
kind of family and young Mee was sent to the local temple school. I asked
him if he had any dreams for the future, but he denied this. “I had no
dreams. My family was very poor, so I knew I had to find a way to work and
make money for the family.”
Part of that making money was to work in a little shop
run by one of his sisters. However, despite the privations, Mee said, “I
grew up in a very warm family, even though my mother and father were too
old to work. My elder brothers and sisters all sent money for the younger
children’s education. That’s why I want to take care of my family
today.”
He was an industrious boy and won a scholarship to help
him to Kasetsart University, and he emerged from there after three years
with a B.A. in Arts and Physical Education, after another three years of
working in the family shop at night!
I had expected to hear that he then went into teaching,
but this was not the case. With his experience in the shop, he opened up
his own fashion clothes shop in Bangkok. “Fashion is easy to make a
profit. I watched the trends on TV, in magazines and fashion shows.” He
stuck it out in the capital for six years, helping his family wherever he
could, though the rentals for a four meter shop in Pratunam will make you
think twice about starting your own - 150,000 baht per month!
After the first six years he took the fashion clothes
shop to Pattaya, opening an outlet on Pattaya Central Road simply called
“Everything!” By this stage he had met up with his partner, Khun Joe,
who was a graduate in hotel management through I-Team in Bangkok, as well
as being a hair stylist.
To show that the entrepreneurship was possessed by both
of them, Mee went and joined Bangkok Airways, working the shop when he was
in Pattaya. After finishing with the airline, he then joined the Siam
Bayshore and Bayview resorts in the sales department. Nobody could accuse
this pair of sitting on their hands, doing nothing!
After 12 years in the fashion industry, Mee felt it was
time to take stock of his situation. “Fashion is very competitive, but I
could see that Fitness and Spa was the future trend. But it is not easy to
open this kind of business, as much more capital is needed.” He and Joe
and a third partner then looked at opening a Fitness and Spa, but they
needed a loan from the bank to purchase the property. I asked him, tongue
in cheek, as to whether he applied for an NPL (non-performing loan). He
laughed, saying, “No! But I bought the property in Jomtien Nivate from
the bank, which already was an NPL.”
So they opened up Refresh Fitness and Spa, with only
just two or three rooms having had their makeover, to make them suitable
for a spa and fitness business. The interior decor was quite spectacular,
as Mee had four years of experience at evaluating hotels throughout
Thailand with Bangkok Airways, bringing back the best ideas to be used in
his own enterprises. With the Refresh business now having grown over the
past two years, they have now enlarged the premises, and rooms, and
Mee’s touches can be seen in the regional decor right through the three
floors of fitness and spa rooms. “We want to show the many tourists from
around the world, Thai traditions,” said Mee.
Very proudly, Mee took me for a quick guided tour of
the ‘almost finished’ building, pointing out the rows of exercise
machines and showing me the sauna and segregated spa areas.
I also asked him what other jobs he was doing on the
side, but he denied this, saying that both he and Khun Joe were both now
working 100 percent for their venture.
Mee admits that now the Fitness and Spa business is
also very competitive, but believes that they have a price and personal
approach advantage. “Five star hotels have spa and fitness clubs, but
they are very expensive. We believe we offer more value for our members,
as (because they work there themselves) we can keep the prices low. We
have a promotion right now, of only 8,000 baht for a year, until the new
building is finished,” said Mee, ready to sign me up in an instant (it
is B. 11,000 normally).
With the new extensions almost completed, will Mee now
rest? Not likely. “I don’t know where my limits are, but I will open a
little garden nursery to sell plants and to bring them here for the spa
garden. Plants are very relaxing,” said Mee, looking laid-back.
I asked this busy man if he had any hobbies, or even
any time for any hobbies, and his three hobbies will floor you, as they
did me. “Go to the temple, go to sleep and silence.” Following this I
asked if he meditated, and he affirmed that he was very strong in his
Buddhist faith and faithfully followed five precepts of the religion.
Despite his business interests, he claims not to follow any five or ten
year plans. “I don’t think about the future, Joe wants to travel round
the world, but I am happy just to stay here and try to help my family,
because not all of them are comfortable.” As I pointed out in the
opening paragraph, Mee is just a genuinely ‘nice’ guy!
